Poetry in Motion
by Magical Irish Dolphin
Summary: Misunderstood Frankenstein misfit Adam ponders over his feelings for Carolyn Stoddard, and why he's so different. Slight character study one-shot.


**Disclaimer:** **Dark** **Shadows** **is a** **Dan Curtis** **Production** **and** **not mine** **nor do I own** **some of the** **poetry** **reference** **in here**

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Poetry in Motion

Since he met Professor Stokes, one of the things Adam learned about himself was his love of reading. He was really good of learning new words and figuring out its meaning.

He enjoyed learning various subjects, but when he came upon an old book containing words such as, "_The_ _uses_ _of_ _my_ _soul_, _N__or_ _lift_ _my_ _hand_, _Serenely_ _in_ _the sunshine_ _as before_," and, "_Doom takes_ _to part us_, _Leaves thy heart_ _in mine_," Adam became befuddled.

He never read anything like that before. As he continued his studies at the small table where his books were scattered, those very funny words continued resounding inside his head. He didn't know what they meant. Professor Stokes never spoke of them.

Long before he met the Professor, one the first words Adam learned was "Friend." Over time however, that word became poisoned to him. Neither Barnabas nor Willie, (who took care of him for a time), treated him as a friend. In fact, Willie treated him as if he was some sort of... inhuman monster.

Adam suddenly fliched when he recalled Barnabas hitting him repeatedly with his cane. Those memories hit him like cold ice. He quickly turned away from it. But Adam did remember after that incident he couldn't take it anymore. He could no longer stand Willie's childish taunts, or Barnabas' cold reserve.

Nor could he any longer take being chained and locked up like an animal. He needed to escape. Not even Julia, who at one point had been nice enough to him, taught him some words, and tended his wound when he got shot, was a reason to continued to half-exist at the Old House.

After the escape, a series of painful events occurred of which Adam would rather forget. They were events filled with pain, hurt, violence, misery, and even death. A generous man died at Adam's hands but he didn't intend for that to happen. There were still too many things Adam got scared and confused from.

The man who died was so kind. Adam considered him his first true friend. The man was the only one who didn't view Adam as some sort of... monster. In fact, the man was even happy when Adam visited him at his deathbed. But when the man died, Adam found himself on his own again.

But by chance, the troubled and confused Adam crossed paths with a man named Timothy Eliott Stokes.

Professor Stokes became intrigued by Adam, and graciously took him under his wing. Through the Professor, not only did Adam learned new words, but he quickly learned to form sentences.

He also learned how to read, which he loved doing, and how to behave in a much more polite manner. The Professor also taught him how to eat his meals with a fork and knife like a real gentleman, as oppose to having his food flung at him liked Willie used to do.

As Adam continued to learned to read, he was able to effortlessly go through books of trivial subjects. That was why the book with the funny words befuddled him. The words were not arranged in a way Adam was used to. Despite his puzzlement, Adam became intrigued by them nonetheless. His friend, Carolyn Stoddard, had to be the one to explained to him he found a poem. Not just a poem, something called a sonnet. Carolyn explained those funny words spoke of love.

Adam had heard that word before, first from Julia, then from Professor Stokes, but Adam himself never experienced it. Up till that point the only emotion Adam experienced was fear and hatred. But when Carolyn explained those words to him, Adam was struck by another new thing he never experienced before: A sudden epiphany.

Upon hearing Carolyn speaking words of poetry to him, Adam realized how much the silky blonde meant to him. He paced the cobweb infested, disarray abandoned room he was locked in. He uttered Carolyn's name over and over, tasting it on the tip of his tongue, finding it very sweet.

"_And what I dream_ _include thee_, _As the wine,_ _Must taste of_ _its_ _own grapes_."

As he let that verse from the poem echoed in his mind, Adam couldn't believed the circumstances of how he met Carolyn. He recalled hulkingly barging into Collinwood, and terrorizing Carolyn and her mother. He somehow kidnapped Carolyn... and held her captive for a while. That was before he learned manners and etiquette from Professor Stokes.

He was really rough on her back then. For her part, Carolyn was understandably afraid of this beast, but somehow she found herself caring deeply for him. Adam was completely touched when both Professor Stokes and Carolyn came to his side when he inexplicably died for a while. Adam knew that happened because something happened to Barnabas. It was odd to share in Barnabas' pain.

Adam would never forget the constant choking, suffocation, and hopelessly gasping for breath as he fought for his life. That experience chilled him. But the friendly presence of the Professor, and the relieved look on Carolyn's face, warmed Adam's heart. It was nice to finally be in the company of people who actually cared whether or not Adam lived or died.

Lord knows there were plenty of people in Collinsport who would like nothing more than to see Adam dead.

Because of that, Carolyn decided to hide him at the abandoned West Wing on the Collinwood estate. People already knew Adam stayed at Professor Stokes' house for a time, so it was time for Adam to relocate.

The abandoned room he was locked in was in shambles. It was almost no different from that root cellar he occupied himself in (and held Carolyn captive) for a time.

But the room had a table to eat meals (and study) on, a bed to sleep in, and a much sturdier roof. If nothing else, at least Adam had an entire section of a mansion to himself. He and his two friends could have some privacy when they'd visited him. But Professor Stokes wasn't able to visit Adam as often as he'd liked.

Constantly finding excuses to visit Collinwood just so he could secretly visit Adam would look suspicious. So that left Carolyn to take care of this mysterious orphan.

Suddenly, Adam recalled how Carolyn's frantic screams cut through the wind on that fateful night the police shot him on Widows Hill. Adam plunged to the rocky shore below. He then smiled impishly over the memory of being reunited with Carolyn sometime after that. She was completely stunned and amazed at how Adam survived such an ordeal. The best part was they started seeing each other more steadily after that.

"Carolyn," Adam continued to uttered her name to himself, smiling warmly. As he continued to think about it, Adam decided Carolyn was like poetry herself. Her curtain of silky blonde hair, which he loved to thread his fingers through, her smile, and her laugh. Adam felt that made her a raze of sunshine, a sparkling star, and a sweet sounding melody rolled up into one.

(Okay, maybe not melody. Adam encounterd her taste in music when they first inexplicably met. He knocked that radio off the table. He and the Professor needed to introduced her to real music at once!)

"_Thy touch_ _upon the palm_."

With that verse, Adam sighed contentedly over every gentle touch he shared with his blonde caretaker. But his heart began to ache a little when he realized Carolyn would often flinched away during some of those times. She would disconcertingly turned her back on him. Adam began to grow a little troubled over this fact.

How could that be? He knew his appearance was not... attractive, but he thought they were becoming close.

He also didn't know whether or not if he should worry over another troubling matter; Adam was beginning to feel like a prisoner being locked up in this dusty forgotten room day in and day out. He did understand Professor Stokes and Carolyn's reasons for locking him up in this room, but Adam wished he knew why the people of Collinsport hated him so much. And even though his two friends liked and accepted him, Adam felt they also displayed some hint of being ashamed of him.

He hoped that wasn't true. If it was, he might as well be locked up and chained in that cell at the Old House.

The thought of Carolyn being ashamed of his love tore through him. It felt like a burning sharp blade piercing his heart. Why was he so different? Why?

Adam shook his head. He figured it wouldn't do him any good to allow himself to be haunted by these difficult questions. He would learned the truth in time. He decided to return to his studies.

Several hours later, the golden evening sun streamed its way through the dusty window. A creak emerged outside the locked door, followed by the familiar sound of a turning key.

Adam smiled broadly as he eagerly shut the volume he was reading on the table. Surely it was his blonde caretaker coming to give him his tray of dinner.

Adam hoped he could convinced Carolyn to stay a while. There was so much he wanted to experienced with her.

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Outside the Great House, the violent waves crash against the sharp rocks on the shore of Widows Hill. Through the wind, a ghostly voice echoed, "_He hears_ _that name_ _of_ _thine_, _And sees_ _within my eyes_ _the tears of two_."

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**A/N:** **I** **believe** **the poem** **Adam and Carolyn** **bonded over in** **that one episode** **is from** **Elizabeth** **Barrett** **Browning.** **I don't know what it's called though.**


End file.
